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Topic: CB vs HAM [OK please play nice] (Read 4327 times)

I have read about these mods you can do but I think I will just keep a Baofeng around as most of them allow it already.I really dont want to mess with an expensive radio in this way. Not telling others to not do it, I just choose not to.

MARS mod to a dual band VHF/UHF is obviously different than a MARS mod on an HF transceiver.

You are correct that a baofeng functionally is similar to a modded dual bander (not necessarily legal).

Many retailers will modify a newly purchased transceiver for around $50. Though most will ask for some credentials or evidence of your participation in appropriate groups. e.g. Civil Air Patrol

The MARS mod for most HF radios is very simple. Typically removing a diode.

In the pre-Internet days, information on how to open up transmit outside of the ham bands was a closely guarded secret, but now it is out there for anyone, including step by step instructions with pictures.

There are some purists who believe it is some kind of sin if you are not using the radio for MARS, CAP, etc. In my opinion, the radio was built for that capability, and I would rather have it than not.

Not advocating to run a 100 watt rig on CB, but you would be glad to have that capability in a pinch.

The MARS mod for most HF radios is very simple. Typically removing a diode.

In the pre-Internet days, information on how to open up transmit outside of the ham bands was a closely guarded secret, but now it is out there for anyone, including step by step instructions with pictures.

There are some purists who believe it is some kind of sin if you are not using the radio for MARS, CAP, etc. In my opinion, the radio was built for that capability, and I would rather have it than not.

Not advocating to run a 100 watt rig on CB, but you would be glad to have that capability in a pinch.

I don't think there's any downside to a MARS mod beyond the cost or small risk to DIY.That said, emergency agencies have their respective interoperability plans. It's not just us amateurs, but how will state police talk to the city fire department?If you work as an emergency communications volunteer long enough, you will likely use 800mhz public safety and other .gov bands/frequencies that are completely different from amateur.Especially when you get into digital talk groups (trunking). None of our ham gear will be any help.

A big part of emergency communications is... well, being able to communicate effectively. That could mean talking on a land line telephone and taking notes with a pencil.

The CB is the "lowest common denominator" for disparate party communications; the tow truck, log truck or other 4x4 groups in the woods is likely going to have one. Years ago having a CB kept a bad day from turning into a bad week (or worse) for me. Growing up in the 70's and 80's my friends and I used them daily.

Once you communicate on 2m or 70cm FM you will never want to go back to the harsh AM CB. You only will if you have to. Getting a technician class (entry level) HAM license and using the plethora of quality gear available to the Tech class if far, FAR better than CB.

With that said I still have a small CB and magnet antenna for when needed and I usually take it with me when I am in the woods. I never use it unless I have too.

That said, emergency agencies have their respective interoperability plans. It's not just us amateurs, but how will state police talk to the city fire department?

A lot of the last-ditch interoperability plans seem to revolve around VHF/UHF analog FM. These frequencies are in the National Interoperability Field Operations Guide (NIFOG): https://www.dhs.gov/publication/fog-documents Most of these are on bands that an old-school analog scanner or a Baofeng can receive.

Also interesting is the Auxiliary Communications Field Operations Guide (AUXFOG), at the same link. Still flipping through that one. Both of these manuals are sort of dumping grounds for all kinds of frequency tables, plug wire-up guides, cell phone-email gateways, etc. And boilerplate wording. Lots of that.

When I worked with the local Marshals office and the Communications Link Dispatch (local 911) ,we had an inter-operation unit that would allow us to put each of our local and state service radios together....a Windows based patch system...NOW they use 700 MHZ and have manual capability to communicate with any services PLUS they have 'common' channels that they can SHARE...In the past they depended on dispatch to tell any needed service what and where. Most of this change happened when Homeland Defense organized and set up a center nearby.

I was thinking of getting a CB rig to add to my comms just so I would have the added ability.

Just recently added an Anytone 10/11m radio to our primary vehicle for essentially the same reason, not so much for use but more for monitoring. Had a unused antenna mount on the rear bumper (I know, poor location choice) and the RG-8X already run for a 2m whip I had mounted there in the past so the install was quick. It got its first real road test on a 4-hour trip I took last week. After monitoring channel 19 for about 30 mins and hearing nothing (on an interstate), I started scanning and caught a couple local 2-party conversations, but it was mostly dead air except for the kilo-wattage DX'ers on channel 6. Was monitoring 146.52 as well, and heard not even a single CQ the entire trip.

Was a bit surprised at the lack of CB traffic, and did note that almost all the semis I saw did have what appeared to be CB antennas, but it was a day trip with no bad weather or traffic backups so maybe that explains the lack of activity. Our home is too far from an interstate to pick up CB activity from there, but for the rare times I do turn on the CB in the shack I don't hear much except the DX'ers either, and we're in an area popular with off-roaders. MURS and GMRS/FRS however is fairly active. Anyway, just my observations - maybe it's popular in other regions but CB seems dead here.

If you don't need SSB but may want FM, and especially if space and cost are concerns, might check out that Anytone model. On request that Amazon vendor will email the instructions for the 3 mods (US CB, 10m, and 25.615-30.105 MHz full band mode) and a pdf doc with a list of the frequencies for each channel in each of the 10 bands when configured for 'full band' mode. The thing really is tiny, I mounted mine inside the center console compartment so it was easy to reach (and be out of sight when the console lid is closed), but it would fit inside a glovebox with room to spare too.